Living in the Shadows (UNHCR/IRD)

8/10/2019 Living in the Shadows (UNHCR/IRD)

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JORDAN HOME VISITS REPORT 2014

LIVING IN THE SHADOWS


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International Relief & Development

This report was principally authored by FrancesVoon from the UNHCR Policy Development andEvaluation Service, with research assistance fromSkandar Keynes. Thanks are due to the follow-ing people who provided support to the proj-ect: Haneen Abu-Sunbul, Rasha Batarseh, HlneDaubelcour, Charlie Dunmore, Marta Ghezzi,Ghassan Hamad, Mohammad Hawari, ShadiMhethawi, Marco Santacroce, Volker Schimmel, KeTang and Koen van Rossum.

Humanitarian Aid

and Civil Protection

UNHCR is grateful for the critical financial support provided by donors to its refugee response in Jordan aswell as those who have contributed to UNHCR programmes with unearmarked and broadly earmarkedfunds. Donors who have contributed to the cash assistance programme in Jordan in 2014:

Thanks are due the outreach and assessment teams of International Reliefand Development, who conducted the majority of the interviews whichunderpin this report.


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JORDAN HOME VISITS REPORT 2014

LIVING IN THE SHADOWS

Cover: Rima1looks out after her father as he leaves the house to sell coffee and tea in the streets. It isonly through this work that he is able to pay the rent and keep a roof over his family s heads.UNHCR / J. Kohler

1Names in this report have been changed to protect the identity of the refugees.


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The Syrian crisis will soon be entering into its fifthyear. The refugee crisis resulting from the conflict inSyria has been described as the worst in modernhistory by the High Commissioner for Refugees,Antnio Guterres. Whereas 2011 and 2012 weremarked by an incremental increase in refugeenumbers, and 2013 by the largest sustained influxof Syrians into the Kingdom, 2014 has seen a stabi-

lization in terms of the number of Syrian refugeesin Jordan.

At the same time, given the protracted nature ofthe crisis and the limited prospects for an imme-diate end of the conflict, time is not on the sideof refugee families in Jordan. Many have used upor liquidated the few assets that they were ableto bring along with them and their only way ofsurviving in Jordan is reliance on assistance or towork illegally. However, towards the end of 2014,cracks in this life-saving network of assistance have

started to widen. With the required funding likely tobecome even more difficult to secure an increasedlevel of poverty and subsequently vulnerability isto be expected. This report is based on findingsfrom the first half of 2014 and will be seen in themonths to come as a baseline against which dropsin support and assistance are measured. Given thefindings, it is undeniable that any downturn in sup-port will have immediate and very existential con-sequences of Syrians in Jordan. The bigger the dropin support, the more dramatic the fallout.

2015 will be a litmus test for the strength and lon-

gevity of the support by all in the refugee response.Given the findings presented in this report, it isclear that a remotely dignified existence for Syrianrefugees can only be guaranteed if the support isstrong and lasting.

CONTEXT


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Israa, a Syrian refugee girl from Dara is warmed up under the coat of her father. UNHCR / B. Szandelszky


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARYIt is increasingly recognised that the majority ofthe worlds refugees reside not in camps, but dis-persed amongst the community in the countrieswhere they have sought asylum. This is the case forSyrian refugees in Jordan, of which 84% live out-side official refugee camps in urban and rural areasacross the country.1Understanding the needs, vul-nerabilities and capacities of this dispersed refugeepopulation is vital to ensuring their protection andaccess to services.

This report examines the situation of Syrian refu-gees living outside camps in Jordan, based ondata collected through UNHCRs Home Visits pro-

gramme. Under this programme, interviews areconducted with every refugee household regis-tering with UNHCR outside camps. This providesan unparalleled source of information about thesituation of Syrian refugees in non-camp settings.In total, UNHCR and its partners have assessed over170,000 households throughout Jordan since theproject commenced in 2012.

Data for this report was collected from 41,976Syrian refugee households between January andJune 2014. Of these, the largest numbers live in

Amman (33.6%), Irbid (28.4%), Mafraq (13.2%) andZarqa (10.5%). The main governorates of origin ofvisited households are Dara (37%), Homs (19%),Rural Damascus (12%), Damascus (11%), Aleppo(10%) and Hama (6%). Female-headed householdsrepresent one third of the refugee population.

The findings of this report indicate high levels ofeconomic vulnerability amongst Syrian refugees,with two out of three living below the Jordanianabsolute poverty line of 68 JOD/person/month (96USD). Levels of poverty are higher amongst female-than male-headed households. Most families need

to spend more than they earn in order to meet theirhousehold needs, with average expenditure be-ing 1.6 times greater than income. Refugees musttherefore resort to a range of coping strategies tosurvive. This includes selling jewelry or taking chil-dren out of school, but most often means borrow-ing money or spending savings. Living with otherrefugees and relying on help from family, friendsand neighbours are also important sources of sup-port. None of these coping strategies are sustain-able. Refugees appear to become more economi-cally vulnerable as their displacement is prolonged,

with the risk that vital support networks will also

1UNHCR Registration Database.

erode with time, as the resources and hospitalityof both refugees and host communities wear thin.

Cash assistance can be an effective tool for address-ing refugees economic vulnerability. Evidence sug-gests that UNHCRs cash assistance programme hasimproved the ability of refugee households to meettheir basic needs, and reduced by 20% the numberof sampled beneficiaries below the programmespoverty threshold.2

Rent represents the largest proportion (57%) ofrefugee households expenditure, followed by food(24%) and utilities (8%). The majority of refugees

(91%) live in rented accommodation. While mostare living in apartments or cement houses, one inten reside in informal housing, often in precarioussettings including tents, caravans, basements androoftops. Almost half (47%) of refugee householdsare in living conditions assessed as bad or urgent,and two out of five live with poor sanitary con-ditions. While 89% of households reported beingconnected to a piped water network and threequarters to a piped sewerage network, the pro-portion is much lower amongst those in informalshelters.

The majority of refugees have an asylum seekercertificate (99.2%) and a service card issued by theMinistry of Interior (95.4%), which, at the time ofdata collection, together entitled refugees to usepublic services free of charge. Refugees access toboth public health and education has increasedsince 2013. Utilization of public healthcare by refu-gees has risen from 72% in 2013 to 77% in 2014,while use of NGO health services fell from 20% to16% and private health care remained around 8%.The proportion of Syrian school-aged childrenenrolled in formal education increased from 44%

in 2013 to 53% in 2014. Financial constraints andovercrowding in schools present barriers to educa-tion, and dropout continues to be a concern. Whileefforts to strengthen refugees access to servicesshould continue, the gains that have been madeare a credit to the Government of Jordans policy todate of providing free access to services for Syrianrefugees, and to the efforts of the international hu-manitarian community to strengthen and build thecapacity of public services, to the benefit of bothrefugees and local communities.

2Improving Targeting and Welfare of the Syrian Refugeesin Jordan, unpublished UNHCR-World Bank mimeo, April2014.


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POVERTY AND

COPING STRATEGIES

INTRODUCTION POPULATION

PROFILE

31 2

Methodologyp. 13 Population profilep. 20

Age and gender ofheads of household

Living together

Living alone

Arrival, registration anddocumentation

Internal migration

p. 21

p. 22

p. 22

p. 24

p. 24

Sources of incomep. 28

Poverty amongst Syrianhouseholds

Household budgetanalysis

Coping strategies

Impact of UNHCR cashassistance on poverty

p. 29

p. 33

p. 41

p. 44

Seedra, 6, and Nawaf, 2, asleep on floor mats in a former chicken barn in Mafraq, Jordan. After their family pay 175 JOD (247 USD) each monthin rent, there is no money left to buy clothes, shoes and to furnish their room with anything other than a few mattresses, pillows and a modestcarpet. UNHCR / J. Kohler

INTRODUCTION POPULATION

PROFILEPOVERTY AND

COPING STRATEGIES


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LIVING

CONDITIONS

ACCESS TO

SERVICES

CONCLUSION AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

4 5 6

Shelterp. 50

Waterp. 55

Sanitationp. 58

Healthp. 62

Educationp. 65

Conclusionp. 73

Plan of Actionp. 75

LIVING

CONDITIONSACCESS TO

SERVICES

CONCLUSION AND

PLAN OF ACTION


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Fatima, Syrian refugee woman from Homs, poses for a portrait in a rented flat in Northern Jordan, where she lives with her parents. UNHCR /B. Szandelszky


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1 - INTRODUCTION


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1

Jordan Home Visits Report 2014 - Living in the shadows

As the Syria crisis enters its fifth year, the number of those displaced by the conflict continues to grow,while the challenges of responding to their needs remain significant. There are over 618,500 Syrianrefugees registered with UNHCR in Jordan, close to one tenth of the country s population of nearly 6.5million.1While approximately 16% of Syrian refugees live in established refugee camps, the remaining

84% (almost 523,000 individuals) reside outside camps in both urban and rural areas throughout thecountry, a figure that has increased from 80% in 2013.2Ensuring protection, assistance and access toservices for this dispersed refugee population is a formidable task. The Government and people of Jordanhave generously welcomed Syrian refugees into their communities, where they share schools, healthand water facilities. The international humanitarian community has mobilized significant assistance tomeet refugees basic needs, whilst supporting and strengthening Government services and responsecapacity, bolstering outreach and protection activities, and refining approaches to identify and targetassistance to those most vulnerable.

1According to the Government of Jordan the total number of Syrians residing in the country has reached 1.4 million.This includes those Syrians believed to be residing in Jordan prior to 2011.

2Syria Regional Refugee Response Inter-agency Information Sharing Portal, http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/country.php?id=107

Life is difficult but we hope that one day well return toSyria. I still remember the smell of nature and the fresh

vegetables in my country village.

- Ghada, female head of household, mother of two children

The report Living in the Shadowsbuilds on data collected during 41,976 interviews of refugee households conducted byUNHCRs implementing partner International Relief and Development (IRD) volunteers during their regular home visits. IRD


INTRODUCTION
http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/country.php?id=107http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/country.php?id=107http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/country.php?id=107http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/country.php?id=107


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KAP

Zaatari

EJC

Azraq

Irbid

Salt Zarqa

Madaba

Karak

Aqaba

Mafraq

Ma'an

Jarash

Tafielah

Ajlun

Amman

Karak

Madaba

Amman

Aqaba

Tafielah

Zarqa

Ma'an

Ajlun

Balqa

Irbid

MafraqJarash

Azraq

Legend

Camp/refugee location

Capital

Administrative Center

City

Syrian cases visited

as per home visit (2014)

1 - 10

11 - 50

51 - 100

101 - 500

501 - 1,000

> 1,000

Governorate

Water body

Map 1: Syrian refugee households visited by UNHCR and IRD, January to June 2014

Methodology


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Karak

Madaba

Amman

Aqaba

Tafielah

Zarqa

Ma'an

Ajlun

Balqa

Irbid

MafraqJarash

Azraq

Irbid

Salt Zarqa

Madaba

Karak

Aqaba

Mafraq

Ma'an

Jarash

Tafielah

Ajlun

KAP

Zaatari

EJC

AzraqAmman

Legend


Capital

Administrative Center

City

Syrian outside camp refugee population

as per home visit (2014)

1 - 100

101 - 500

501 - 1,000

1,001 - 2,000

2,001 - 4,000

4,000 - 5,000

Governorate

Water body

Map 2: Total Syrian refugee population visited by UNHCR and IRD, January to June 2014

Jordan Home Visits Report 2014 - Living in the shadowsJordan Home Visits Report 2014 - Living in the shadows


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As the refugee situation becomes protracted, it is pertinent to consider the extent to which refugeeshave been able to attain a degree of stability in Jordan, or whether vulnerabilities are increasing as theirdisplacement becomes prolonged. How Syrian refugees are coping in the face of increasingly stretchedservices, infrastructure and community hospitality must also be understood. An analysis of the variedcircumstances, needs and capacities of Syrian refugees in non-camp settings may assist in identifyingfactors that support and hinder their ability to live in safety and dignity during their time in displace-ment, and may in turn inform more effective programming. This report seeks to describe and analysethe situation of Syrian refugees living outside camps in Jordan, based on data collected through theUNHCR Home Visits programme between January and June 2014.

The Home Visits programme was initiated in 2012 in conjunction with UNHCRs cash assistance pro-gramme, through which eligible refugees living outside camps are provided with regular monthly assis-tance of between 50 and 120 JOD (71 and 169 USD) per month. Cash assistance is intended to supportvulnerable Syrians to meet their basic needs, whilst providing dignity in the delivery of assistance, andfreedom of choice. In order to qualify for assistance, refugees must meet a set of criteria, which combinepoverty and protection considerations. Through the home visits, which are primarily conducted byUNHCRs partner International Relief and Development (IRD), refugee households eligibility for cash as-sistance is assessed. UNHCR and its partners have assessed over 170,000 households throughout Jordan

since the programme commenced in 2012. Since the beginning of 2013, home visits are conducted forevery refugee household registering with UNHCR outside camps. This provides a rich, and possibly theworlds largest available, set of data on the situation of refugees in non-camp settings. Data from UNHCR/IRD home visits formed the basis for the report, Syrian Refugees Living Outside Camps in Jordan: HomeVisit Data Findings 2013,3which this report succeeds.

The data for this study is drawn from interviews with 41,976 Syrian refugee cases (encompassing 144,692individual refugees) during home visits conducted by IRD and UNHCR in the period January to June2014, covering around one quarter of all registered Syrian refugees outside camps. A case comprisesone or more individuals who are registered as a unit with UNHCR. The terms case and household areused interchangeably in this report, however it should be noted that in many instances more than one

case may be living within the same dwelling.

3http://unhcr.org/urban/

Figure 1: Home visits population by age and sex

Source: UNHCR/IRD Home Visits 2014 and UNHCR Registration Database
http://%20http//unhcr.org/urban/http://%20http//unhcr.org/urban/


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Over one third (34.6%) of households are headed by females,4of which 2.7% are women living alone.Where home visits are conducted with female refugees living alone, the interview is always conductedby a female enumerator. For other households, interviews may be conducted by either male or femaleenumerators. Over half (57%) of IRD home visits enumerators are male, and 43% are female.

While this study is not based on random sampling, no significant systematic bias is apparent in terms of

age and gender profile, as seen from the below population pyramids comparing home visits data withdata from the UNHCR registration database (ProGres). In terms of governorate of origin, Aleppo andHama are over-represented in the home visits sample, and Dara is under-represented when comparedto the overall non-camp Syrian refugee population in Jordan.

4 Throughout this analysis, female-headed households are defined as cases in which the Principal Applicant is female.

Figure 3: Governorate of origin of home visits population compared to total non-camp Syrian refugee

population

Source: UNHCR Refugee Registration database

Figure 2: Total non-camp Syrian refugee population by age and sex




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One week after Mohammad arrived in Jordan withhis wife and four children, his home in Syria wasdestroyed. The family now shares an apartmentwith another family, spending most of their timein their own room to preserve the little privacy thatthey still have. Like 99 per cent of Syrian refugeeswithout work permits, Mohammad cannot legally

work and struggles to support his family. Moham-mad is trying to ensure that his children completetheir education despite their psychological traumaand economic hardship, and so every day he leaveshis house early in the morning, pretending to goto work so that he can present to them a positiveimage of a hard-working role model. He spendshis time walking across the city, taking many hoursto complete basic tasks, or sitting in the upstairsapartment with a neighbour. When asked abouthis family back in Syria that he has managed tokeep in touch with, he struggles to hold his compo-sure. The familys medication fills a shoebox that hewould not be able to afford without the generosityof a local doctor. Mohammads family is eligible for

UNHCR cash assistance. Like thousands of otherfamilies, he is on a waiting list to be assisted oncefunding becomes available. UNHCR/ M.Hawari

Mohammad


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A Syrian family who sought refuge in northern Jordan. The average case size is 3.5 and the average age of the head of household is 36.5 years.UNHCR / J. Kohler


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2 - POPULATION PROFILE


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2 POPULATION PROFILE

The principal governorates of origin of those households visited are Dara (37%), Homs (19%), RuralDamascus (12%), Damascus (11%), Aleppo (10%) and Hama (6%). As seen in the chart below, refugeesfrom Dara represent over half the Syrian refugee populations in Ajlun, Irbid and Jarash. There are signifi-cant populations from Homs in Mafraq and Maan, and a high proportion of refugees from Hama in Balqa.

Home visits are conducted with Syrian refugees across the whole of Jordan. The largest numbers took place inAmman (33.6%), Irbid (28.4%), Mafraq (13.2%) and Zarqa (10.5%). The average case size is 3.5 and the averageage of the head of household is 36.5 years.


We sincerely thank the local community that has givenus a space to live amongst them as if we were brothers.

This has lightened the load of the disaster upon us.

- Zarifa

Figure 4: Governorate of destination of home visits cases

Source: UNHCR/IRD Home Visits 2014



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Figure 5: Home visits cases by governorate of origin in Syria and governorate of destination in Jordan


2.1

Female-headed households comprise over a third (34.6%) of visited families, and of the overall Syrian refu-

gee population living outside camps in Jordan. As noted in Woman Alone,

1

a study on female-headedSyrian refugee households, women may be brought to head their households through the death, injuryor disappearance of men in their families, or due to separation from male family members, who may havestayed behind or returned to Syria to care for relatives or protect property.

Cases in which the Principal Applicant is an adolescent (12-17 years) comprise 1.4% of visited cases; thisfigure includes some cases that can be classified as adolescent-headed households, and others in whichan adolescent is living with other family members but is separately registered with UNHCR. A significantlyhigher proportion of male- (53.5%) than female-household heads (43.5%) are young adults aged 18-35years. However, the proportion of heads of household in the age bracket 36-59 years is roughly equalbetween female- (37.6%) and male-headed households (36.1%). A higher proportion of female heads ofhousehold are elderly (60+ years) than males (16.4% compared to 9%). Overall, elderly-headed householdscomprise 11.5% of visited cases.

A disproportionately high number of female-headed households are from the neighbouring Syrian prov-ince of Dara, with 47.4% of female-headed households compared to 31.6% of male-headed householdsoriginating from this governorate. This concentration is even more pronounced in the northern governor-ates of Irbid, Mafraq, Ajlun and Jarash, where two thirds of female-headed households originate from Dara.

The proportion of female-headed households in the refugee population is highest in the northern gover-norates, and decreases further south. This can be seen in Figure 6, which shows the percentage of refugeehouseholds headed by women in each governorate, arranged by latitude of the governorate capitalfrom north to south. The presence of family and community support networks may be one reason forthe concentration of female-headed households in these areas. They might prefer to remain closer to theborder due to proximity to support networks in Syria, such as male family members, and may generally

have more restricted mobility than male-headed households.

1UNHCR, Woman Alone: The fight for survival by Syrias refugee women, 2014, http://womanalone.unhcr.org

Age and gender of heads of household
http://womanalone.unhcr.org/http://womanalone.unhcr.org/


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Half of all visited households are sharing accommodation with at least one other Syrian refugee whois separately registered with UNHCR. In the majority of cases, this is a member of the extended fam-ily, although occasionally refugees are living with other Syrian refugees to whom they are not related.

Female-headed households are considerably more likely than male-headed households to be shar-ing accommodation with others; 64% of female-headed households live with other Syrians who areseparately registered with UNHCR, compared to 44% of male-headed households. The majority (92%)of elderly-headed households are sharing accommodation with others. By contrast, just over half ofhouseholds headed by refugees aged 18-35 are sharing with others, and only 40% of households headedby refugees aged 36-59 years live with others.

Of the households visited, 1,489 refugees are single individuals who are not living with other Syrians,representing 3.5% of all visited households. The majority of those living alone are in Amman (39.2%) and

Irbid (23.8%), with 14.5% residing in Mafraq.

Refugees living alone were considerably more likely to be male (73.3%) than female (26.7%), which ac-cords with the cultural context in which it is unusual for women to be unaccompanied. Close to twothirds of those living alone are between the ages of 18 and 35. A disproportionately high number arefrom the urban areas of Aleppo and Damascus, which comprise 16.7% and 15.6% respectively of thoseliving alone, compared to 9.7% and 11.1% respectively in the overall visited refugee population. A dis-proportionately low number of those living alone are from the areas of Dara (23.6%) and Homs (13.9%),which may be due to the prevalence of family links between these areas and Jordan.

While income and expenditure data is not available for all visited refugees living alone, 38% were liv-ing above the Jordanian poverty line of 68 JOD per month,1suggesting that many are able to support

1The Jordanian absolute poverty line is 67.8 JOD per person per month (814 JOD per year), calculated to be the levelbeneath which the minimal requirements for survival (food and essential non-food items) cannot be met. (UNDP,Jordan Poverty Reduction Strategy, 2013, p34.)


Figure 6: Percentage of female headed households by governorate



2.1

2.1

2.2

2.2

Living together

Living together


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themselves. However, there is also evidence of high levels of vulnerability amongst Syrian refugeesliving alone. A disproportionate number of those alone reside in tents (12.4%, compared to 5.9% in theoverall home visits population) and other informal housing2(13.4% compared to 2.3% overall). A higher

proportion is also in living conditions that are assessed as bad or urgent (58% compared to 47% amongstthe overall visited population).

2Informal housing is used throughout this report to refer to transitional or emergency shelter, such as tents, mud hutsand caravans.

Figure 7: Governorate of origin of cases living alone compared to all home visits cases

Source: UNHCR Registration Database

Samar, her husband and their four children occupy a single room in an apartment they share with another family. Unable to afford their ownapartment, they have had to sacrifice their privacy to the point where Amira does not feel comfortable removing her veil and wears it at all timesin her new-found home. UNHCR / M. Hawari


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Elderly alone

Four and a half percent of the visited refugee population are over the age of 60, compared to 3.6% inthe entire Syrian refugee population outside camps. While the vast majority of these live with familymembers, 149 were found to be living alone (0.4% of all households). Most (80%) were female, which ishigh considering that amongst households headed by persons over 60 years, there is a roughly equalsplit between female- and male-headed households. Most elderly persons living alone are in Mafraq(33.6%), Amman (26.8%) and Irbid (22.8%). While almost two thirds live in formal housing, 22% live intents or spontaneous settlements and 11% live in other informal housing. Seven out of ten face livingconditions assessed as bad or urgent. These represent a small but highly vulnerable group amongstSyrian refugees in Jordan.

In terms of the distribution of date of arrival in Jordan, 5.2% of visited households arrived in 2014, withthe vast majority having arrived in 2013 (62.2%) and 2012 (26.0%), and 4.6% in 2011. Six percent of visitedhouseholds were registered in 2012, 77% in 2013 and 16.5% in 2014.

Syrian refugees residing outside camps are required to register with UNHCR and to obtain a Ministry ofInterior (MOI) card (known as Service Card) by approaching the police station closest to their place ofresidence. The majority of households (99.2%) have an asylum seeker certificate, which is issued uponregistration with UNHCR, and most households (95.4%) also have an MOI service card. The proportionof female-headed households without an MOI card (5.7%) is slightly higher than male-headed house-holds (4.1%).

Both an asylum seeker certificate and MOI card are required to gain access to public services. It shouldbe noted that information was not collected about the governorate in which the MOI card was issued,and the proportion of refugees with MOI cards issued in their governorate of residence (and thereforeeffective to access services) is likely to be lower than the figures above. This data was also collected prior

to the decision by the Government of Jordan that asylum seekers in urban areas making an appoint-ment with UNHCR after 14 July 2014 must show documentation indicating that they have been formallybailed out from an official camp in Jordan.

Comparing data from registration and home visits shows that instances of Syrian refugee families re-locating entire households from one governorate to another are rare. This suggests that aside frommovement within their area (or at the most within the same governorates), Syrian refugees are reluctantto move their base. Overall, only 9% of households were visited in a different governorate from thatwhich they cited as their residence upon registration before or renewal of registration after their homevisit. On average, the period between when families registered and when they were visited is 7 months.

Inversely, the average period between visits and when families renewed their registration is 4 months.The low rate of full movement is corroborated by anecdotal evidence that the prospect of losing supportnetworks is one of refugees greatest fears preventing them from moving their base, despite potentialmarket push and pull factors.

Balqa represented an exception to the overall pattern, with 31% of households visited in Balqa havingbeen previously registered in a different governorate. This can be explained by the high number ofitinerant agricultural workers in the Jordan Valley which comprises a significant proportion of Balqagovernorate. Households that were found to be living in informal tented settlements at the time ofhome visit had a significantly higher rate of movement than the overall population. In total, 35.5% ofhouseholds living in informal tented settlements have moved governorates either before or after theyreceived a home visit, noticeably higher than the overall rate of 9%.

These findings resonate with those of the 2013 Home Visits report, where 10% of households werefound to have moved between governorates, with the exception of Balqa where 39% of householdshad been registered elsewhere.

2.1

2.1

2.4

2.5

Arrival, registration and documentation

Internal migration



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82%

93%

68%

95%

85%

82%

72%

90%

87%

91%

Karak

Madaba

Amman

Tafielah

Zarqa

Ajlun

Balqa

Irbid

Mafraq

Jarash

Zaatari

EJC

Azraq

Legend


Movement of Syrian refugees

10 - 50

51 - 100

101 - 200

201 - 300

> 300

5,000

Stayed in governorate

Moved from governorate

Governorate

Water body

91%

Map 3: Internal migration amongst visited households


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A Syrian refugee from Homs tries to earn money selling tissues on the streets of Irbid. UNHCR / J. Kohler


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3 - POVERTY ANDCOPING STRATEGIES


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Humanitarian assistance is the most prevalent source of income and is received by 94% of households. Incomefrom work is reported by one third of households, though the actual incidence may be higher.

I dont have enough money to buy painkillers for my wifewho can barely walk. The only food we have right now is

a bag of bread that is three days old.- Talaal

3.1

3


Sources of income

During home visits, refugees are asked to provide information about their sources of income. It shouldbe noted that as this information is collected in the context of assessing households eligibility for cashassistance, it is possible that some information about income is withheld or under-reported. In addition,refugees access to formal livelihood opportunities in Jordan is limited by the fact that few are able toobtain an official work permit, principally due to prohibitive costs and administrative obstacles. Only1% of visited households had a member with a work permit in Jordan. While a significant number ofrefugees are understood to engage in daily labour or other forms of informal employment, it is difficultto obtain accurate information about these activities.

Earning from regular or irregular work or business was reported to be a source of income for aroundone third of visited households, with Mafraq and Zarqa having the lowest rates of reported work. For

the reasons outlined above, this is highly likely to be under-reported. A significantly smaller propor-tion of female-headed households reported receiving income from work (13.5%) than male-headedhouseholds (47%). This was the case across all age groups of household head, with the difference beingmost pronounced amongst those household heads aged 18-35, of which only 9% of female-headedhouseholds reported income from work, compared to 53% of male-headed households. Amongsthouseholds headed by refugees aged 36-59, 22% of female-headed households reported income fromwork, compared to 41% of male-headed households.

However, the proportion of female-headed households receiving remittances from relatives is morethan double that of male-headed households (7.4% compared to 3.3%). Households headed by adultfemales (18-59 years) were more likely to receive remittances than those headed by elderly females (60+years) (8.5% compared to 4%). By contrast, households headed by adult males were less likely to receiveremittances than those headed by elderly males (3% compared to 6%).

Humanitarian assistance was the most prevalent source of income, being received by 94% of visitedhouseholds. This includes WFP food vouchers, to which all registered refugees were entitled until vulner-ability based targeting began in October 2014, excluding about 7% of registered refugees. There wereno significant differences between the percentage of female-headed and male-headed householdsreporting income from humanitarian assistance. UNHCR monthly financial assistance was reported asan income source for 4.4% of visited households,1however 45% of households were recommended forcash assistance following the home visit.

1 These represent cash beneficiaries receiving home visits for the purpose of re-assessment.

POVERTY AND COPING STRATEGIES


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Two in every three Syrian refugee households are below the absolute poverty line in Jordan, and one out of sixis below the Jordanian abject poverty line. Female-headed households are more vulnerable to poverty, andhouseholds economic vulnerability appears to increase over time.

Per capita income and expenditure

Monthly income and expenditure per person were analysed to provide an indication of householdwelfare. While income is briefly analysed, expenditure is considered in greater depth as it is generallyconsidered to be a more reliable gauge of poverty and welfare.1Expenditure provides a better indicationof a households ability to meet their basic needs, as income does not account for factors such as accessand availability that affect consumption. Expenditure is generally more reliably measured than income,which is frequently under-reported. However, it should also be noted that the context of assessing house-holds for cash assistance during home visits may also create an incentive to under-report expenditure.

Overall, the average expenditure per capita for Syrian refugees is 67 JOD (95 USD). This is close to theJordanian absolute poverty line of 68 JOD (96 USD) per person per month (814 JOD per year/1150 USD

per year), the level beneath which the minimum requirements for survival (food and essential non-fooditems) cannot be met.2The average per capita income is 41.22 JOD (58.22 USD), meaning that expenditureis more than 1.6 times income. As discussed below, refugees must rely on a range of coping strategiesin order to manage this income-expenditure gap.

Average expenditure and income are both lower for female- than male-headed households, and theincome-expenditure gap is considerably larger, with average expenditure being 2.6 times greater thanincome. This indicates greater economic vulnerability amongst female-headed households. Lower ex-penditure per capita can be understood to indicate greater poverty, as refugees are able to spend lessto meet their basic needs.

1 World Bank, Defining Welfare Measures, http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/EXTPA/0,,contentMDK:20242876~menuPK:435055~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:430367,00.html, Accessed 29 Oct

2014.

2UNDP,Jordan Poverty Reduction Strategy, 2013, p34.

3.2 Poverty amongst Syrian households

2/3 of refugees

live with less than96 USD/month

1/6 of refugeeslive with less than39.6 USD/month

Absolute poverty line in Jordan

Abject poverty line in Jordan
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/EXTPA/0,,contentMDK:20242876~menuPK:435055~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:430367,00.htmlhttp://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/EXTPA/0,,contentMDK:20242876~menuPK:435055~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:430367,00.htmlhttp://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/EXTPA/0,,contentMDK:20242876~menuPK:435055~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:430367,00.htmlhttp://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/EXTPA/0,,contentMDK:20242876~menuPK:435055~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:430367,00.html


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Table 1: Average per capita expenses by year of registration

Registration Year Average expenses per capita (JOD / USD)

2011 58.57 / 82.72

2012 59.45 / 83.97

2013 63.42 / 89.78

2014 89.41 / 126.29

Table 2: Distribution of households by expense group, disaggregated by gender

(Note: Households reporting zero expenditure are excluded from this analysis)

Expense

Group

Total

number of

households

% of

households

Number

of female-

headed

households

Number

of male-

headed

households

% of female-

headed

households

% of male-

headed

households

z score of

difference in

proportions

1 (1 to=68JD) 10,403 32.1% 2,389 8,014 29.1% 33.2% -6.801

Overall 32,385 100.0% 8,211 24,174 100.0% 100.0%


As Table 1 shows, refugees who registered in earlier years have lower average expenses per capita thanrefugees who registered later. This appears to indicate that refugees become more economically vulner-able over time, as their resources become depleted.

Living above and below the poverty line

To examine where refugee households stand with respect to relevant poverty lines, three expense groupswere considered, defined as follows:

Expense Group 1: 1


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One out of six Syrian refugee households lives below the abject poverty line UNHCR / J. Kohler

Those in lower expense groups tend to have larger families and live in more crowded conditions, withan average of three people per room in Group 1 compared to one person per room in Group 3. Higherexpense groups tend to have younger heads of household.

A greater proportion of female-headed households (20%) are in Group 1 than male-headed households(16%). Conversely, a smaller proportion of female-headed households (29%) are in Group 3 than male-headed households (33%), indicating higher levels of economic vulnerability amongst families headedby women.


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Map 4: Expense groups



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3.3 Household budget analysis

Mohammad stares into a shoe box containing his familys medication. Unable to obtain a work permit, he struggles to meet all of their financialneeds. When I have some money in my pocket I am torn between buying what my daughter needs for school and buying food for the family.UNHCR / M. Hawari

Rent is the largest expense for refugee households, comprising over half their monthly expenditure. Food is thesecond largest expenditure, comprising one quarter of households monthly expenditure on average.


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Figure 8: Distribution of total reported expenditure in 2013 and 2014

Source: UNHCR Registration Database


Expenditure on rent

Meeting the costs of rent has consistently been identified as amongst the principal concerns of Syrianrefugee families living outside camps.1Between 2012 and 2013, refugees expenditure on rent sharplyincreased, with rental prices rising due to surging demand in an already crowded housing market. In2014, household expenditures on rent remained relatively stable in some governorates (Amman, Karak)and increased in others (Aqaba, Maan, Madaba, Mafraq and Zarqa), which is consistent with continuedhousing inflation.2

However, rent expenses decreased in Ajlun, Balqa, Irbid, Jarash and Tafieleh. This may be due to the factthat, in response to increasing rental prices and dwindling household resources, families are choosing

to either share housing with others to diffuse costs or move outside the urban centres to areas whererents are lower. Comparison of 2014 and 2013 home visits locations in these governorates indicatesa greater number of visited households outside urban centres in 2014. Further, the phenomenon offamilies moving out of urban centres to reduce costs is corroborated by reports received by UNHCRfrom community-based organizations in some governorates.

However, the overall distribution of refugees between classes of expenditure on rent has not significantlychanged since 2013, with 50% of households spending under 100 JOD (141.2 USD) per month on rent,and a further 42.5% spending between 100 and 200 JOD (141.2 and 282.5 USD) per month on rent.Amongst those who reported paying rent, the average monthly expenditure on rent reported was 121JOD (170.9 USD) per month.

1

UNHCR Participatory Needs Assessment, March 2014; CARE, Lives Unseen: Urban Syrian Refugees and JordanianHost Communities Three Years Into the Syria Crisis, April 2014; CARE, Syrian Refugees in Urban Jordan, April 2013.

2 World Bank,Jordan Economic Monitor: Resilience Amid Turmoil, Spring 2014, p10.

The overall breakdown of refugees expenditures varied very little from that found in the 2013 Home VisitsReport. Rent continues to comprise the bulk of refugees expenses (56.8%), with food the second largestexpense (24.2%). It should be noted that household food expenditures reported here do not includethe value of WFP food vouchers, which amount to 24 JOD/person/month (33.9 USD). Utilities comprised8.4% of expenditures, while medical and education expenses continued to be minor as, at the time ofdata collection, free access to public services was available to registered refugees with the requireddocumentation. Other expenditures included transport, household items, clothing and infant needs.


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Map 5: Expense categories for rent


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Expenditure on food

Overall, refugee households out of pocket expenditure on food has decreased between 2012 and 2014.An increasing proportion of the refugee population is spending less than 50JOD/month (71 USD) onfood (73.7% in 2014 compared to 67.1% in 2013). As noted above, the household food expenditurereported here does not include the value of WFP food vouchers.

WFP has been distributing food vouchers to Syrian refugees in urban areas of Jordan since August 2012.Since January 2013, the value of food vouchers has been 24 JOD/person/month (33.9 USD). During theperiod of this study, all registered refugee households were entitled to food vouchers, although WFP has

Figure 9: Average expenditure on rent 2012-2014

Source: UNHCR/IRD Home Visits 2013 and 2014

Figure 10: Classes of expenditure on rent 2012-2014




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World Food Programmes assistance has been critical to help families provide food for their children and themselves. UNHCR / O. Laban

since begun to move from blanket to targeted distribution. At the time of writing WFPs food distribu-tion for non-camp refugees was at risk due to lack of funding. It is clear that a cut in food assistance willlead to an increase in vulnerability for hundreds of thousands of refugees.

Four out of five visited households were receiving WFP food vouchers at the time of the home visit.Those receiving vouchers reported additional food expenditure of 15 JOD/person/month (21.2 USD),compared to 23 JOD/person/month (32.5 USD) amongst those not in receipt of vouchers. Receipt offood vouchers is thus associated with lower out of pocket expenditure on food.

In terms of coping strategies to which households resorted in order to meet their food needs, somewere reported equally between those who received food vouchers and those who did not. Half of allhouseholds reported reducing food quantity and 43% reducing food quality in order to meet householdfood needs, with little difference between those with and without vouchers. However, reported incidenceof other coping strategies was higher amongst those households who received food vouchers. Theseincluded borrowing food (reported by 17% of voucher recipients compared to 12.5% of non-recipients),purchasing food on debt (27% compared to 20%), selling assets (26% compared to 19%) and skippingmeals (47% compared to 44%). This may indicate that some of those who are not receiving food vouch-ers are already able to meet their food needs. It also corroborates food security monitoring findings that

indicate a high number of refugees vulnerable to food insecurity amongst Syrian refugees in urban areas,


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including those in receipt of food vouchers.1In terms of dietary diversity, on average visited householdsare able to consume fruit less than once per week, meat less than twice per week, and vegetables andpulses less than 3 times per week.

As WFP food voucher coverage has been relatively stable during the period examined, it is likely thatdecreasing food expenditure is related to a depletion of household resources over time, as indicated inthe analysis of overall per capita expenditure above.

1WFP and REACH, Comprehensive Food Security Monitoring Exercise: Syrian Refugees in Jordan, July 2014. The CF-SME found 6% of sampled refugees to be food insecure and 42% to be vulnerable to food insecurity, despite receivingWFP assistance.

Figure 11: Average expenditure on food 2012-2014


Figure 12: Classes of expenditure on food 2012-2014




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Map 6: Expense categories for food


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Amina, 77, from Dara now lives in a village outside of Irbid. She requires assistance with breathing and uses a machine kindly pro-vided for by a generous Jordanian doctor. She lives in an apartment with her daughter-in-law Safaa and her children. While a bless-ing, the medical equipment uses a lot of electricity, raising their monthly utility bill. UNHCR / J. Kohler

Expenditure on utilities

Overall, average expenditure on utilities (which includes water and electricity bills) has increased between2012 and 2014. Structural reforms that have been implemented in Jordan to decrease the national budgetdeficit included the removal of the fuel subsidy in November 2012 and an increase in electricity tariffs inAugust 2013, which have increased the cost of utilities and had inflationary pass-through effects in varioussectors. The decrease in expenditure on utilities in Aqaba, Irbid and Tafieleh require further study, particularlyin Irbid where reported expenditure on utilities has decreased over the past three years.

Medical expenses

As in 2013, a small number of households (3.9%) reported any expenditure on medical care, which isconsistent with the widespread access to free public health services for Syrian refugees at the time of datacollection (discussed below). It should be noted that since the data collection for this report was completed,

the Government of Jordan has decided that Syrian refugees have to pay the non-insured Jordanian ratefor health care.

The discrepancy between the proportion of households reporting use of private healthcare (7.5%) andthe proportion reporting medical expenditure may be explained by the fact that information about ex-penditure related only to the preceding month, whereas the period for utilization of healthcare was notspecified. The highest numbers of households reporting medical expenses were in Amman and Zarqa,the governorates with the highest use of private health services, and in Mafraq, despite low prevalenceof private health care utilization in this governorate. The average medical expenditure was 38 JOD (53.7USD) in Amman, 28 JOD (39.6 USD) in Zarqa and 25 JOD (35.3 USD) in Mafraq. While average reportedmedical expenses were highest in Aqaba (47 JOD/66.4 USD), this represents a very small number of casesand cannot be seen to be generalizable.

Education expenses


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Figure 13: Average expenditure on utilities 2012-2014


Figure 14: Classes of expenditure on utilities 2012-2014


As Syrian refugees can access the Jordanian public education system, the proportion of householdsreporting education related expenses is very small, although it increased from 0.9% in 2013 to 2.3% in2014. Average expenditures on education vary from 10 JOD (14.1 USD) in Maan to 73 JOD (103.1 USD) inAmman. The highest education expenses are likely to relate to the small number of Syrian refugees whoare attending private schools or universities, all of which are privately run in Jordan.

Other expenses

Seven out of ten households reported other expenses, which included the costs of transportation,clothing and shoes, household items and infant needs. Average expenditure in this category rangedfrom 15 JOD (21.2 USD) in Madaba to 21 JOD (29.7 USD) in Karak and Mafraq. Mafraq had the highestpercentage of households reporting other expenditures (82%).


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Figure 15: Coping strategies



3.4 Coping strategies

Refugees resort to a range of coping strategies in order to meet their household needs. The strategiesmost commonly relied upon are spending savings, borrowing, sharing living costs with others, andrelying on community support.

Spending savings is the most commonly reported strategy, and is used by 58.4% of households providingdata on coping strategies. In addition, over a quarter of households had sold jewellery and 1.8% had soldhousehold assets. Within Syrian culture, jewellery is often the main form of wealth held by women, com-monly received at marriage and not easily replaced. Spending from savings is least prevalent amongstthe poorest (Expense Group 1), who are less likely to have savings or assets to rely upon. Spendingsavings appears to be more prevalent amongst male- than female-headed households. Similarly, ahigher proportion of male-headed households (51%) resort to borrowing money than female-headedhouseholds (34%). To some extent, this may arise from a perception that female-headed households are

less able to repay loans, but it may also reflect a cultural context in which women are reluctant to placethemselves in the debt of others and thereby potentially expose themselves to exploitation. Male-headedhouseholds are slightly more likely to be engaged in begging than female-headed households (1.1%of male compared to 0.7% female-headed households). Altogether, 421 households were identified asresorting to begging.

By contrast, female-headed households appear more likely to receive various forms of community andfamily support. As noted above, the proportion of female-headed households receiving remittances ismore than double that of male-headed households. Female-headed households also report receivingsupport from family, host community members and humanitarian agencies at a slightly higher rate thanmale-headed households.

Living with others is noted as a coping strategy by nearly half of households, and is more prevalentamongst female (58%) than male-headed households (41%). The governorates with the highest propor-

tion of refugee households reporting this coping strategy are Amman, Irbid, Madaba and Zarqa. Livingwith others is most common amongst smaller families, and decreases with increasing family size.

Spending savings and borrowing are amongst the most common coping strategies, which undermine longer-term economic resilience. Sharing living costs with others and relying on community support are also importantsources of support, particularly for female-headed households.


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Support from the community was mentioned as a coping strategy by one third of households. Thiswas a particularly important coping strategy in Mafraq, where it was relied upon by 63% of households,reflecting strong family and community ties amongst refugees, and between refugees and the local com-munity. Refugees from Homs (43%), As-sweida (39%), and Dara (37%) most frequently cited communitysupport as a coping strategy. Interestingly, support from the community was highest amongst ExpenseGroup 1 (43%), slightly lower amongst Expense Group 2 (41.6%) and lowest amongst Expense Group3 (26.8%), indicating that the community does well at directing support towards the most vulnerable.

Two coping strategies relating specifically to children were identified: withdrawing children from schooland child labour. Almost one third of families with school-aged children reported withdrawing childrenfrom school in order to support the family. The was the case for over half of households in Balqa, and twoout of five households in Mafraq. Child labour was noted as a coping strategy by close to 950 households,representing 6% of households with school-aged children. It is likely that incidents of child labour areunder-reported and that the actual rates are higher, considering the findings of other studies that suggestthat the practice is widespread.1The highest absolute numbers of households reporting child labourwere in Amman and Irbid, with the largest proportion of households reporting child labour in Balqa(13%). This is likely to be related to the presence of seasonal agricultural workers in these governorates.The rates of both child labour and dropping children from school are highest amongst Expense Group

1, and decrease with higher income, indicating that they are related to economic vulnerability.

1UN Women, Inter-agency Assessment: Gender-Based Violence and Child Protection Among Syrian Refugees inJordan, with a Focus on Early Marriage, 2013; UNHCR, The Future of Syria: Refugee Children in Crisis, 2013, http://unhcr.org/FutureOfSyria/index.html

Were going to buy more gum to sell, say Ahmed and Abdullah, 7 and 8, as they present some of the coins theyve earned. With a sick fatherand rent to pay, the job of bringing in money falls to them. UNHCR / J. Kohler


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3.5 Impact of UNHCR cash assistance on poverty

Cash assistance from UNHCR successfully reduced the number of recipient households under the povertythreshold by 20%.

Ahmed came to Jordan expecting to meet his brother. However, he couldnt find him when he arrived, losing his only source of sustenance.Thank God for UNHCR cash assistance, it gave me some hope and became my life; if it is cut off, I will die, he says. UNHCR / M. Hawari


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In total, 21,000 Syrian refugee households (close to 77,000 individuals) are currently receiving UNHCRcash assistance, comprising approximately 14% of the total Syrian refugee population living outsidecamps in Jordan. As of the end of 2014, another 9,863 Syrian refugee households have been identifiedas eligible for UNHCR cash assistance (i.e. another 7% of the Syrian refugee population living outsidecamps), but cannot be provided with support for lack of funds.

On the basis of the data collected during the home visit, 18,509 visited households (45%) were ap-proved to receive cash assistance from UNHCR. Of those who were approved, 57% were in ExpenseGroup 1, 41% in Expense Group 2 and 26% in Expense Group 3, which reflects the fact that targeting ofcash assistance is based in part on economic vulnerability but also on protection considerations. Themajority of those who were elderly and living alone (82%) were approved to receive cash assistance, aswere 75% of women living alone, which is consistent with the vulnerability criteria established for cashassistance eligibility.

In order to analyse the impact of cash assistance, time series data was extracted from home visits data-bases dating from April 2012 to September 2014 to examine the situation of beneficiaries before andafter the receipt of cash assistance. A total of 1,770 Syrian refugee cases were analysed, comparing datafrom one home visit taking place before receipt of cash assistance (Time 1), and one home visit after the

receipt of cash assistance (Time 2). The amount of monthly financial assistance received ranged from50 to 120 JOD (71 to 169 USD), depending on need and family size.

The analysis seeks principally to examine the impact of cash assistance on poverty amongst beneficiaryhouseholds. As the criteria for receipt of cash assistance is 50 JOD/person/month (71 USD), being theabsolute poverty line as applied by the National Aid Fund in 2012, this is taken as a poverty thresholdfor the purposes of this analysis. For reasons outlined above, per capita expenditure is taken as a morereliable indicator of welfare than income.

Prior to receipt of cash assistance, 78% of households were defined as poor, having per capita expenditureof 50 JOD/month or less (71USD). After cash assistance was received, 62% of households were definedas poor. This indicates that cash assistance contributed to a 20% reduction in the number of households

living below the poverty threshold of 50 JOD/month (71USD).

In total, 21,000 Syrian refugee households, or approximately 15% of the total Syrian refugee population living outside camps, are currentlyreceiving UNHCR cash assistance. UNHCR / J. Kohler


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Table 3: Number of cases who are poor and non-poor at Time 1 and Time 2

Time 1 Time 2

Number of cases % of cases Number of cases % of cases

Non-poor 382 21.6% 671 37.9%

Poor 1,388 78.4% 1,099 62.1%

Grand Total 1,770 100.0% 1,770 100.0%

Table 4: Average expenditure by category at Time 1 and Time 2

Education Food Rent Medical Utilities Other

Time 1Non-poor 1.74 65.87 133.29 3.18 14.70 11.53

Poor 0.76 59.37 81.31 0.99 12.30 11.00

Grand Total 0.97 60.78 92.57 1.47 12.82 11.11

Time 2

Non-poor 2.80 59.71 152.16 4.80 31.86 15.90

Poor 0.55 49.18 105.08 1.66 27.72 11.34

Grand Total 1.40 53.17 122.95 2.85 29.29 13.07


When various categories of expenditure are examined, average expenses in virtually every categoryrise for both poor and non-poor after the receipt of cash assistance, indicating that they become bet-ter off regardless of whether they cross the 50 JOD/month (71 USD) poverty threshold. Food is oneexception to the trend, where expenditure decreased for both poor and non-poor after cash assistance.This may be related to the rollout of WFP food vouchers from late 2012, whose value is not includedin the reporting of food expenditure. It is also possible that the provision of cash assistance reduced

households need to sell food vouchers to meet other needs, thereby reducing out of pocket expenseson food. Education expenses also reduced for those who are poor at Time 2, which may be related toincreasing access to public education, or to enhanced support for learning costs. Utilities expensesmore than doubled between Time 1 and 2, which can be understood with reference to the significantrise in electricity prices nationally over this period. While expenditure on rent increased for both poorand non-poor between Time 1 and 2, in general beneficiaries housing type did not appear to changeafter the receipt of cash assistance.

While 73% of female-headed households and 80% of male-headed households were poor before re-ceiving cash assistance, 50% of female and 66% of male-headed households were poor after receivingassistance. This seems to indicate that a larger proportion of female-headed households than male-headed households were lifted out of poverty after receiving cash assistance.

It should be noted that other indicators of household vulnerability, such as coping strategies, are notreflected in this examination of average expenditure. It is therefore possible that even where refugeesexpenditure remained below the poverty threshold, their need to resort to negative coping strategiesmay have been reduced. Further study is warranted to gain a fuller understanding of the impact of cashassistance on refugee households, as well as the profiles of cash assistance beneficiaries with differentoutcomes, and the factors that facilitate and hinder them to move out of poverty


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Fatima left Aleppo with her children in August 2013after their home was damaged by shelling. She hasnot heard from her husband, who remained behindin Syria to care for his elderly parents, for more thaneight months.

She and her seven children currently live in a sin-

gle room in the Jordanian capital Amman. There isbarely enough space to lie down at night, and theyhave no means of heating the room.

Three months ago, Fatima began receiving cashassistance of 120 JOD (169 USD) per month fromUNHCR, which covers most of the cost of her rent.Before that I had to borrow money to pay the rent,and I was covered in debts, she says.

The cash assistance also means that her 10-year-oldson Ali no longer has to spend up to six hours aday selling clothes at a local market to make extramoney. He is now attending school and dreams ofbecoming a doctor. UNHCR/ M.Hawari

Fatima


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Ahmed, 16, points to the ceiling in his familys kitchen in Karak. During the winter months, moisture caused the cement ceiling to break into piecesand fall. With no previous construction experience, Mohammad tried his best to re-cement the hole, but hes not sure how effective his work was.Im still afraid to walk across the room, he says. UNHCR / J. Kohler


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4 - LIVING CONDITIONS


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We have no privacy to the point where my wife alwayswears her veil and we dont leave our room.

- Mohammad


4

4.1

LIVING CONDITIONS

Shelter

The majority of Syrian refugees live in apartments and are paying rent. One in ten refugees are living in informalshelters, such as tents, mud huts and caravans. Almost half of refugees are living in shelters whose condition isclassified as bad or undignified.



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Map 7: Distribution of shelter by type


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The majority of Syrian refugees have formal shelters,1and are living in apartments or cement houses.About one in ten households visited are living in informal shelters, namely tents or spontaneous settle-ments, mud huts, caravans and other forms of shelter, which includes unfinished buildings, storeroomsand rooftops. The proportion of people living in informal shelters (9%) is slightly higher than in the2013 Home Visits Report (7.1%). The greatest numbers of informal shelters are found in Mafraq, Balqa,Amman, and Irbid.

As in 2013, the vast majority of refugees are renting their shelters (91%), while 8% have free shelters andonly a handful (0.5%) stated that they owned their shelter. Of those who do not pay for shelter most (63%)

are in informal shelters, including 55% in tents/spontaneous settlements. Of those renting, one in fivefamilies has no rental contract. This lack of proper tenure documentation can be a barrier to obtainingan MOI card, and leaves tenants vulnerable to exploitation or eviction by landlords.

1 Formal shelters are used throughout this report to refer to shelter made of permanent materials.


Figure 16: Types of shelter


Figure 17: Living conditions by governorate




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During home visits, enumerators assessed refugees living conditions, based on criteria including du-rability of housing, space per person, ventilation, heating, electricity, kitchen and sanitation facilities.Half of refugees living conditions are assessed as being livable (50.6%). However, 47.1% are found to beliving in bad (40.5%) or urgent (6.6%) conditions, of which the largest numbers are in Amman, Irbid andMafraq. Close to half (46%) of all visited households have no heating and one quarter has poor access toelectricity. Furniture conditions in 52% of households are rated as poor, and 29% of households have nofood storage facilities. Living conditions in Mafraq are particularly poor, with two thirds of households inthis governorate having bad or urgent living conditions. A much higher proportion of informal sheltersare in a bad or undignified condition than formal shelters.

Tents and spontaneous settlements

Close to 6% of visited refugee households (2,427 cases) live in tents or spontaneous settlements. Whilea handful are found in urban and peri-urban areas, as seen from Map 7, the vast majority are found inagricultural areas, principally in the Jordan Valley (which crosses Irbid, Balqa and Karak) and in Mafraq.

Over half of refugees living in tents and spontaneous settlements originate from Hama, although refu-gees from Hama comprise only 5.7% of the total home visits population. A further 14% of householdsliving in tents are from Homs, and 12.4% from Idleb, while refugees from these governorates comprise18.6% and 1.5% of the visited refugee population respectively. Hama, Homs and Idleb are crossed bythe semi-arid steppe land (badia) of central Syria traditionally occupied by Bedouin tribes, for whomtents are a traditional dwelling.2These three governorates are also traversed by an agricultural belt thatfollows the north and western border of Syria, which explains why a considerable number of Syrianrefugees from these areas participate in seasonal agricultural work in Jordan, to which many spontane-ous settlements can be linked.

Families living in tents and spontaneous settlements tend to be slightly larger, with an average case sizeof 4.3 compared to the overall average of 3.5. Female-headed households comprise only 28% of families

in tents, compared to 35% overall.

Living conditions in tents and spontaneous settlements are rated as worse than other shelter types,with 63% assessed as bad, and 35% being in urgent need of upgrade. As noted below, those in tentsrely principally on tankers and wells for water, and sanitary conditions in virtually all tents visited (99%)were assessed as poor.

While refugees living in tents and informal settlements appeared to utilize health care at rates close tothe average, they accessed public health care at lower rates and NGO health care at higher rates. Close totwo thirds of visited families living in tents or informal settlements reported accessing public health care,and over one quarter utilized NGO services, while 6% used private health care. While the vast majority(97%) of families living in tents have an MOI card, it is likely that for many these are registered in a differ-ent governorate, which would provide an explanation for the low utilization of public health services.

Education of children living in tents and spontaneous settlements is a particular concern. Only 6% ofschool-aged children in this form of housing are enrolled in school, which may be related to high levelsof mobility or child labour.

2Dawn Chatty, The Bedouin in Contemporary Syria: The Persistence of Tribal Authority and Control, The Middle EastJournal, Vol 64 No 1, Winter 2010, pp 29-49


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Map 8: Location of tents and spontaneous settlements visited by UNHCR and IRD superimposed on agri-

cultural areas


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The majority of Syrian refugees live in apartments and are renting their shelter. One in ten refugees are livingin informal shelters, such as tents, mud huts and caravans. Almost half of refugees are staying in bad or urgentliving conditions.

4.2 Water

Access to safe and reliable water and sanitation facilities is an essential aspect of meeting basic needs.This is a challenge in a water-scarce country such as Jordan, where water and sanitation coverage inmany refugee-hosting areas has been assessed as insufficient. 1

Amongst the refugee households providing information on water sources, 89% are connected to apiped water network, compared to 98% of the Jordanian host population. 2Water assessments in hostcommunities in Jordan indicate that connectivity to a water network is poorer in rural than urban areas,and water supply is more limited in the northern governorates.3

Of those home visits cases connected to a piped network, 94.5% state that water is regularly available.However, it should be noted that this does not provide an indication of the households perception ofthe quality or adequacy of water.

Close to 9% of households depend on tankers, a less reliable and more costly source of water, whosedelivery varies considerably by season and is often scarce in summer.4Two percent of households relyon wells, which are considered less dependable in terms of water quality and availability. A slightlylower proportion of male-headed households (88.8%) have piped water than female-headed house-holds (90.4%). This is likely due to the higher proportion of male-headed households living in informalshelters, which have poorer water access. While most of those staying in apartments are connected toa piped network (96%), this is the case for only 7.6% of those living in tents, who instead rely principallyon tankers (61%) and wells (32%). Those in caravans also rely predominantly on tankers (55%), with 24%having access to piped water, and 21% using wells. Almost two thirds of visited households relying onwells are in Mafraq.

1 REACH,Access to Water and Tensions in Jordanian Communities Hosting Syrian Refugees: Thematic AssessmentReport, June 2014.

2Jordan Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Annual Report 2012, p11, http://www.mwi.gov.jo/sites/en-us/Annual%20Reports/MWI%202012%20English%20Report.pdf

3 Ibid, p50; WASH in Host Communities in Jordan: An Interagency Assessment, Sept-Oct 2013, p18-19.

4Syria Refugee Response Plan (RRP6), Jordan Response Plan 2014, p107.
http://www.mwi.gov.jo/sites/en-us/Annual%20Reports/MWI%202012%20English%20Report.pdfhttp://www.mwi.gov.jo/sites/en-us/Annual%20Reports/MWI%202012%20English%20Report.pdfhttp://www.mwi.gov.jo/sites/en-us/Annual%20Reports/MWI%202012%20English%20Report.pdfhttp://www.mwi.gov.jo/sites/en-us/Annual%20Reports/MWI%202012%20English%20Report.pdf


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Map 9: Household water source


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89% of refugee households are connected to a piped water network, compared to 98% of the Jordanian host population.UNHCR / J. Kohler


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Three quarters of households providing information on wastewater state that they are connected to apiped sewerage network, with one quarter relying on tankers. This proportion is similar for male- andfemale-headed households. Connectivity to piped wastewater services varies significantly by sheltertype. While 81% of households living in apartments have piped wastewater, this is the case for only 31%staying in caravans and 5% in tents.

Sanitary conditions in two out of every five households are assessed as being poor, defined as eitherhaving no indoor toilet facilities and/or no shower. Over half of households sanitary facilities are foundto be average, defined as having toilet and shower facilities inside the house, with cold water only. Eightpercent of households had good sanitary facilities, defined as having toilet and shower facilities inside,with both hot and cold water. One in five households stated that they do not have a functioning latrine.1Of those without a functioning latrine, 56% were in apartments, 13% in cement houses and 26% intents, indicating that sanitation concerns affect both formal and informal shelters. The greatest numberof households with poor sanitary facilities are in the populous areas of Amman, Irbid and Mafraq, as

well as Zarqa. Balqa and Mafraq had the largest proportion of households without a functioning latrine(46% and 38% respectively), related to the high number of tents and spontaneous settlements in thesegovernorates.

There were no significant differences between access to functioning latrines between female- andmale-headed households, however a higher proportion of male-headed households (41%) had sanitaryfacilities that were rated as poor than female-headed households (36%). As with access to piped water,this may relate to the higher proportion of male-headed households living in informal shelters

1 Note that this data does not indicate the number of households that have a functioning latrine as defined by techni-cal standards.


4.3 Sanitation

Two out of five households are living with poor sanitary conditions.

Sewage running down the stairs outside houses occupied by Syrian refugees. UNHCR / J. Kohler


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Source: UNHCR /IRD Home Visits 2013

Map 10: Sanitation conditions


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Just inside of Jordan and outside the city of Ramtha sits an abandoned school building. In total 121 people share the building, among them 72children. Ironically, the families who live in a school have no access to schooling for the children. Because of the distant location of their housing,it can be very difficult for them to get to the nearest town to get even bread and simple necessities of life. UNHCR / J. Kohler


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5 - ACCESS TO SERVICES


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A generous Jordanian doctor helps us get the medicationmy wife needs. Without him we wouldnt be able to afford it...My greatest concern and the thing I think about the most is

the education of my children.- Mohammad


ACCESS TO SERVICES

At the time of data collection, free primary, secondary and some tertiary health care at Ministry of Healthfacilities was available to Syrian refugees with an MOI card and proof of UNHCR registration. Those refu-gees who lacked the required documentation could access health services at UNHCR partner clinics,which were free of charge and provide primary and some secondary care.

Refugees with both an MOI card issued in the governorate of residence and proof of UNHCR registra-tion were entitled to access public health and education services free of charge at the time of datacollection, although the Government policy on access to health services has since changed. As ofDecember 2013, UNHCR registration and MOI service cards became valid for a period of 12 months. As

MOI service cards only entitle refugees to access services in the governorate in which they are issued,those who move between governorates must re-register with UNHCR and the Ministry of Interior inthe new governorate of residence in order to access public services.

Health

5

Utilization of public health services has increased, but lack of documentation continues to be a barrier to accessfor some refugees.

5.1

Nawaf speaks with his neighbors. A genetic issue that impacts Nawaf and his brother impacts their feet, leading to progressivedisfigurement and loss of mobility. UNHCR / J. Kohler


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Map 11: Types of access to healthcare


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Utilization of health services

The majority of visited refugee households (87%) stated that they had utilized health services in Jordan.Of those who had not, the most common reason was that they had no need to approach a health service.Lack of MOI card was another reason given for not having accessed health services. Of those refugeeswithout an MOI card who reported on health service utilization, 21% had not utilized health services,compared to 12% of those with an MOI card. Of those without a valid asylum seeker certificate, 8% hadnot used health services, compared to 13% of those with a valid certificate. This suggests that lack ofrequired documentation remains a barrier to accessing health care. The percentage of visited house-holds reporting utilization of some form of health care was lowest in Tafieleh (68%) and Amman (79)%.

Type of health care

At the time of data collection, Syrian refugees access to public health care had increased, with publicservices representing 77% of health service utilization by refugees in 2014 compared to 72% in 2013.Use of NGO health services fell from 20% to 16% between 2013 and 2014, and private health care re-mained around 8%.1This positive trend in public health care utilization points to the effectiveness of theGovernments former policy of free access for refugees, and of efforts by the humanitarian community to

strengthen these services and increase the proportion of refugees who are eligible to access them. Thisapproach of supporting the provision of services to non-camp refugees through public systems ratherthan creating parallel structures is in line with UNHCRs Urban Refugee Policy as well as internationally-recognized good practice.2

As in 2013, Mafraq is an exception to the general pattern of health service utilization, with public healthcare representing only 43.7% of health service utilization, and NGOs instead providing the dominantsource of health services. However use of NGO health services has declined in Mafraq from 59% of healthservices used in 2013 to 53.5% in 2014, and in Irbid, from 19.5% in 2013 to 10% in 2014.

Over half (52%) of private health care utilization is in Amman, followed by 16% in Zarqa and 15% in Irbid.Use of private health care in Amman has, however, decreased from 20% in 2013 to 13% in 2014. This

may be due to a combination of the increased accessibility of public health care, and the deterioratingresources of households who may no longer be able to afford private health services.

Female-headed households appear to access all types of health care at a slightly higher rate than male-headed households, with 89% of female-headed households reporting utilization of some form of healthcare compared to 86% of male-headed households.

Those living in informal shelters report lower use of public health services and higher use of NGO healthservices than those in informal housing. Two thirds of households living in informal shelters reportedutilization of public health services and 25% reported use of NGO health services, compared to 76% and14% respectively for households living in formal shelters. This could be due to higher mobility amongstthose in informal shelters, which may mean that a higher proportion do not have MOI service cards thatare issued in the governorate within which they are currently residing.

1It should be noted that 87% of visited households reported utilization of health services, but that some households

utilized multiple types of health service.2UNHCR Policy on Refugee Protection and Solutions in Urban Areas, Sept 2009; UNHCR Policy on Alternatives toCamps, 2014.


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Of the households receiving home visits, the number of school-aged children enrolled in formal education appears to have increasedfrom 44% in 2013 to 53% in 2014. UNHCR / O. Laban

Education

Enrolment of Syrian refugee children in formal education has increased. Financial constraints, lack of space inschools, and the disruption to childrens lives arising from displacement are the key reasons for non-enrolment.

5.2

The Government of Jordan has allowed Syrian refugee children to have free access to primary and sec-ondary school in the Jordanian public education system. For the school year commencing in August2014, an MOI card is required in order to enrol children in Jordanian public schools, however, this policycame into force after the period of data collection for this report.


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Figure 18: Grades of enrolled school children



Enrolment

Of the households receiving home visits, the number of school-aged children enrolled in formal educa-tion appears to have increased from 44% in 2013 to 53% in 2014 (approximately 20,300 out of 38,250school-aged children). This is comparable to the picture provided by Ministry of Education figures, whichindicated that some 100,000 Syrian children outside camps were enrolled in formal education at the endof the 2013/4 school year, representing approximately 56% of school-aged children outside camps inJune 2014.3A number of measures have been put in place by humanitarian actors to boost the enrol-ment of Syrian refugee children in the past year, including support to increase space and capacity inthe Jordanian public education system, provision of learning materials, and large-scale back-to-schoolcampaigns. In addition, those refugees who arrived in 2013, the peak of the influx, have since had theopportunity to enrol their children in school with the commencement of a new school year. Amongstthose children who are enrolled in school, enrolment is highest in the lower grades and decreases withincreasing grades, indicating that children are dropping out. The large numbers of children in grade 1 isrelated to the fact that many children who have missed school are placed in the first grade.

Enrolment of boys is higher than girls from grades 1 to 6, after which they are similar until grade 10, whenenrolment of girls is higher than boys. As there are more boys than girls amongst children of school age,

this indicates that boys are dropping out of school at a higher rate than girls, particularly in the uppergrades. This may relate to the fact that boys are more like

Living in the Shadows (UNHCR/IRD)

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